Turn a vague automation request into acceptance criteria

“Automate invoice processing” does not specify fields, evidence, approval or failure behaviour. Acceptance criteria turn that request into testable decisions.

Inspect three observable cases

The delivery lab uses Given/When/Then-style records.

from delivery_cases import acceptance_case

result = acceptance_case()
assert result["count"] == 3
assert result["observable"] is True
assert result["vague_terms"] == []
assert result["criteria"][2]["then"] == "no accounting write and exception assigned"

Write criteria from user roles and business outcomes. Cover normal, boundary, invalid, duplicate, unauthorized, dependency failure and approval timeout. Include source evidence and prohibited effects. Replace “fast,” “accurate” and “user-friendly” with measures, conditions and owners.

Agree criteria before building and map each to automated or user-acceptance evidence. When requirements change, version criteria and assess impact rather than silently editing the expected result.

The FDE for Freshers course ties discovery to engineering tests and demos.

Exercise

Take one vague request and write ten criteria, including two non-goals and three failure paths. Ask a business-role reviewer whether every result is observable.

Continue learning

This article is part of the FDE career entry and client-delivery practice sequence. Use the neighbouring tasks when you need the prerequisite or the next application.

• Review the prerequisite or neighbouring task in Run a discovery interview for a fictional client.
• Continue with Write a one-page scope with explicit exclusions.

Reference: Agile Manifesto principles.